Organizational culture reflects the values and attitudes of the person at the top. Hiring and promotions are geared to perpetuate that culture, driven by inside-the-box thinking. It’s pretty obvious that the RFO is stuck in this mode, and has been for years, a mirror image of Kroenke’s management style, such as it is. The Rapids organization is now the MLS pariah or basket case, or more likely both. It’s guilt by association for the players and fans. We’re dragged down into the muck with them.
What we need is a serious shake up, not more of the same. Who better than Tim Tebow to shake things up? He famously says football is just a means to an end for his charitable enterprises. Truly, the Rapids team and fans need a little charity right now. Tim Tebow as owner could be our salvation. Think of the benefits: instant world wide fame and a culture that encourages outside-the-box strategies. If nothing else, it would never be boring.
Another option: the fans buy the team. We would be the first MLS team owned by the fans, similar to the Green Bay Packers arrangement. The Packers recently sold more shares to raise money. At $250 a pop, they gave the buyer pretty much nothing but glamour; no dividends, no chance to sell the shares for a profit, no guaranteed season tickets. You can leave your shares to your children. That’s it. But that’s not stopping over 112,000 people from snapping them up.
How much would it cost us? I put that question to Dr. Andrew Zimbalist, professor of economics at Smith College and an expert in sports economics. He estimated the purchase price would be in the $50-$60 million range. And that’s just buying ownership of the Rapids share of MLS. We’d probably have to purchase DSGP separately. We’d need 5,000 Rapids fans to cough up $10,000 each just for the Rapids management rights. Any takers?
I’m not sure Tim Tebow has saved up enough for this purchase yet. So for now we’re stuck with a new face on the same old thing. I am not encouraged by any of this. Wonder what the players really think? So do I. Realistically, players are not going to express their true opinions, at risk of being instant persona non grata. However, if the punishment for speaking out is being immediately traded away, some of them might think that’s an attractive strategy for advancing their careers.
At the moment, the Rapids website is one huge information vacuum, glossed over with small talk. And as we all know from our high school physics class, neither Mother Nature nor soccer fandom tolerates a vacuum for long. We fans have been busy filling the void with speculation, rumors and sarcasm, making the RFO look even more clueless. It’s great to be in the company of so many sharp minds with a common purpose. It’s too bad we can’t find a spare $60 million to buy out Kroenke. We might not make money owning the team, but we’d at least have a rollicking good time.
